Dublin Bus needs ‘urgent overhaul’

A report is to call for a major shake up so the route network can adequately meet the needs of commuters

The Dublin Bus route network needs an urgent overhaul to meet the needs of commuters, a report being submitted to the Department of Transport claims.

Dozens of under-used and overlapping routes should be scrapped and buses redirected to new housing estates on the city's outskirts, according to management consultants Deloitte.

Dublin Bus is the capital's largest public transport system, carrying 500,000 passengers a day. The firm's own plans for network expansion require 325 extra buses, which would increase fleet size by almost one third at a cost of up to 100m.

But a senior government source said: "Dublin Bus has kept adding more routes rather than seeing if they can do it more efficiently. There has to be a review to make sure buses are going where people want them and they are travelling to places where people live and work."